Moments of Our Choosing
by TyLeeChan
Summary: Aftermath: A new enemy tries to prove himself to a sulking ghost. But his proof requires a poor team of Autobots on a space bridge in the middle of nowhere. Sequel to For Sparks Sake Rodimus Hot Shot Red Alert Starscream Prowl Dirge Ironhide Brawn TFA


**FINALLY! I've been working on this FOREVER and its done :D School has become harder so it is getting more difficult to write, but I'm doing my best, I promise. This is a lot longer than I expected it to be O.o and it covers a ton of POVs and stuff. And the main plot is finally revealed! Well, the main plot of this story arc. And Team Rodimus is in it! YAY! I loved writing them and can't wait to deal with them more in the future. The end could've turned out better, but I generally suck at endings anyways. The title is based off of my favorite quote from ROTF, which is 'Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing'. And this is all about things happening at unoprotune times. Well...START READING!! And review please!**

* * *

Starscream hated to admit it, but he felt weak. Vulnerable. Defeated. Everything he had strived not to be in life and death. He wouldn't let anybot else know about it, though. No. That would just give Prowl more satisfaction. And that was the _last_ thing he ever wanted. The ninjabot was already too stuck-up for his own good. He didn't need anything else to prove him right further.

He stretched out his stabilizing servo, trying to make himself feel more comfortable. He had been stooped over in the corner for orbital cycles now, lost in thoughts. Thoughts he didn't want to think. Decepticons weren't made to feel this way. Slag that Sentinel! Who'd have expected such a dense mudflap to have so many emotions? Why did they invade him so easily? Weak. He despised himself.

Prowl turned and looked at him, concerned. Like he really cared about him. They were enemies. Always were, always would be. Nothing would change that. He was always a Decepticon. Prowl was always an Autobot. He was just trying to act righteous and exalt himself even higher. Again. Like he didn't already remind him all the time that he was Yoketron's favorite little student and that he was destined for great things and a whole bunch of more slag.

He winced as he felt the pain of Sentinel's memories again. Why wouldn't they leave him alone? He wasn't the least bit interested about that `bot's past, nor did he want to feel the emotions associated with it. Sure, something bad happened to some femme a long time ago and just recently a pair of twins that were close to the `bot got in some trouble, but how did that relate to Starscream at all? He didn't even know who they were, nor did he care. Though the femme did look _slightly_ familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Not that he was going to take the time to really think about her. Her identity was hardly a major concern at the moment.

Grief. Passion. Love. Distress. All combined in one melancholy feeling that beat through his spark. If he really had a spark anymore. He wasn't sure. Maybe the pain proved that it was still there. He wished it had dissolved, along with this cursed weak form. He would much rather be burning in the pit, for he knew he would never go to the Well of All Sparks, then continue living through this. But could you really call it living? He wasn't alive…oh, what the slag. Like he really cared about the technicalities. All that mattered was that he was miserable.

Optimus was in the middle of some big meeting with some important council members or something like that via video screen. Starscream never paid much attention to anything that the leader of the Autobots did. It was generally boring. Prowl was once again stuck in fixed concentration on the Magnus, as if it was the highest position possible to stand behind him like a stalker. It kind of fit his name, actually. 'Prowl'. 'To creep about'.

"I never thought about it that way, but you're right."

Starscream almost jumped in surprise. What was that? A voice? But there was nobot in the room other than Prowl and Optimus. Surely it wasn't his imagination. He wasn't going crazy, was he?

"No, you're not imagining anything. I'm very much real."

Did it…just hear what he was thinking? That was kind of unsettling.

"Who are you?" He whispered, not wanting Prowl to hear. If this was just a hoax, he didn't want the ninjabot to know he fell for it. It would just be another fault to add to his list.

"It's okay. He won't be able to hear us. I won't let him." The voice assured.

Alright. This reading his processor thing was getting annoying.

"Then I'll stop. I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"Who are you?" Starscream asked again.

"A friend. A powerful ally, if you will accept me."

"Why can't I see you?" He looked around the room, making sure there wasn't a `bot in there that he wasn't previously aware of. Not that most living `bots could see him and Prowl. There had been that blue `bot who had stared right at the two of them, obviously noticing who they were. But that had been about it.

"Unfortunately, I lack the power that I should have. But it will come. Eventually."

"Are you offline too?"

"That's complicated." He quickly changed the subject, "I need your help, Starscream."

Starscream laughed sarcastically. "My help? What could I do to help you?"

He wasn't sure who or what this voice was, but he was slowly losing any respect (if he had any in the first place) for it. Not only was it not answering his questions directly, but it was acting suspicious even without that. Why would anybot, especially one with senses, want Starscream's help? He was offline, had no chassis, and barely had any control of his abilities. If anything, somebot would want Prowl's help, not his. Something was up, and Starscream wasn't going to be fooled.

"You're much more valuable than you think." The voice insisted, "But I wouldn't be the only one who benefitted. You would be able to do so much more as well."

Oh. That sounded a bit better. He was actually a little more interested in what the voice was saying now. Nobot had promised him anything in a _long_ time. He had always relied on himself. And that had never worked out the way he wanted to. But he still didn't know whether he trusted this voice or not yet.

"If you 'lack the power you should have', what do you have now? Why should I believe that you will be able to do anything for me?" He questioned. There was a soft cackle in reply.

"I should've known you would want proof. But that's fine. I wanted to do a little…'demonstration' anyways."

"A demonstration?" Starscream repeated.

"Wait and see, Starscream. Wait and see."

* * *

Rodimus looked out at the stars and sighed. He hadn't exactly expected to be back here. Not in a million stellar cycles. But he wouldn't complain. But that seemed a little unnecessary. No Decepticons had shown their gearshafts anywhere since Megatron was defeated. But he trusted the decision of Optimus Magnus. Sure, he had never met the `bot personally, but he had heard some great things about him.

Actually, Optimus's story hadn't sounded so much different from Rodimus's. They both had been exceptional students at Autobot Academy. They both had so much potential. The only problem was that Rodimus had actually gone somewhere whereas Optimus had been demoted to space bridge repair team leader. Ouch. But hey, the space bridge factor was also one they had in common. Though Rodimus knew he had a slightly more illustrious title. Not that repair-bots weren't important. Without them he wouldn't have a space bridge to defend.

The other problem, which irked Rodimus a bit, was how Optimus had somehow gained so much power so quickly. He almost literally became a hero from nothing overnight. Rodimus had worked very hard to get the position he was now in. Stellar cycles of training and proving himself. Optimus had been expelled from the Academy. It had only been chance that he had happened to find the Allspark. How would things have gone down if Rodimus had found it instead?

No, he shouldn't dwell on 'what-ifs'. He was still here for a reason, even if he didn't understand it all himself. Besides, Hot Shot's ego would have surely inflated if they had been the heroes and not Optimus's team. And that would not have been good at all.

It was real quiet and peaceful. Nothing visible at all in the unending space surrounding them. Rodimus almost wished that something would happen. Maybe not something as big and dangerous as the last Decepticon attack on this space bridge (because, personally, Rodimus didn't want to go through the whole cosmic rust ordeal again) but at least _something_. Even if it was just a stray asteroid that came too close to them. That would create a little excitement. And it would actually feel like they were doing their job.

Ironhide and Brawn obviously felt the same way. They were practicing some sort of combat maneuver on various pieces debris. It was apparently a tag-team attack, though Rodimus couldn't tell exactly what they were doing. That could be efficient in the future. Perhaps if they had known how to fight as a team prior, they wouldn't have been so easily defeated earlier. Though Ironhide and Brawn always seemed to work together as a team very well. The others…not so much.

At the moment, Red Alert was running some experiment with some other smart `bots over a video screen. It must have been very important to her, because she was in an extra snappy mood lately. Whatever it was, she felt it had to be done for a certain reason. Rodimus hoped she could solve the problem soon. Not only would it probably raise the overall morale but it would give him somebot to talk to. Other than Hot Shot, of course.

He had sent Hot Shot on some pointless mission to get him doing something slightly productive. Rodimus didn't even recall what it was. But the `bot had just been bugging the slag out of Red Alert, so Rodimus knew he had to do something to help her. Though, ever since the Decepticon attack, Hot Shot and Red Alert had oddly enough been getting along. Even more than was necessary. Rodimus had tried to get Ironhide and Brawn to tell him, but they had just grinned and said it wasn't their place to speculate. Speculate, huh? He wasn't sure if their new 'friendship' would be a good or bad thing.

Rodimus still felt uncomfortable about this fact though, and not because of what it implied. After he had been revived, it seemed that everybot else on the team got a little closer to each other. Except for him. Sure, he still cared for his team and wouldn't trade them for Cybertron itself, but he had an odd sense that he was somehow slightly separated from them now. They had bonded through the time they were recovering, and Rodimus hadn't been there to share it with them. Maybe it was just him being paranoid after all that had happened. That was probably it.

"Hey, Roddy!"

Rodimus blinked and returned to reality. Hot Shot was standing in front of him, a big smile on his faceplate.

"What is it, Hot Shot?"

"I found something suspicious, just like you asked." The young `bot replied eagerly.

Oh, that was right. He had told him to find anything that the Decepticons might have left behind on the space bridge that could have been dangerous. Nobot would want to run into another vial of cosmic rust or any of the odd explosives their adversaries had had. But he hadn't really expected Hot Shot to actually find anything. Especially not this quickly. He had only given him the directive less than a megacycle ago.

"Where is it?" Rodimus asked. This could be serious.

"Just this way, follow me!" Hot Shot transformed into vehicle mode and began driving off in the direction of the communication towers on the other side of the space bridge structure. Not expecting an immediate departure, Rodimus slowly followed in example. They passed by Brawn and Ironhide, who showed no interest in what they were doing.

Once reaching their destination, Hot Shot and Rodimus reverted to robot mode. Hot Shot began to point drastically at a little crevice in the ground.

"It's down there!" He informed. Rodimus leaned over and peered into the opening, not sure what to expect from Hot Shot's behavior.

It was a rather large container filled to the brim with a peculiar green-colored liquid. Something about it was akin to energon. But at the same time there was something that made it different, other than the obvious color distinction. The consistency of energon was much smoother than this.

While it was very strange-looking, this didn't seem very dangerous. Rodimus didn't know how to break it to Hot Shot though. The kid looked overly pleased with himself and his discovery.

"What _is_ it?" Rodimus asked.

"I don't know, but it's got Decepticon written all over it." Hot Shot replied.

Now that Rodimus looked at it closer, he saw that Hot Shot was telling the truth. The Decepticon symbol was literally written all around the side of the container. Maybe the kid had found something good after all.

Rodimus initiated his commlink. "Red Alert, if you're free, we need you."

"Fine. I need a few cycles of a break anyways." Her voice responded through his audio receptors.

"Red Alert's coming, then?" Hot Shot asked.

Rodimus nodded. "Should be here soon."

There was a silence. Rodimus looked around and saw the shape of Red Alert driving toward them. Wouldn't take her more than a cycle to get there. She would know what it was. Hopefully. She was pretty smart. That's why the sciencebots wanted her to work part-time on their projects.

Then the silence was broken. Awkwardly.

"JaAm."

"What?" Rodimus stared at Hot Shot incredulously. The `bot was fixed on the green substance, a strange look in his viz scanners. Almost manic.

"There. On the rim. It says 'JaAm'." He pointed.

"Okay. And what do you suppose _that_ means?" Rodimus asked, a bit exasperated. Hot Shot wasn't being very clear.

"I think that's what it's called. JaAm." He elaborated. His voice was very soft and distant, almost as if he was talking to himself. It was kind of creeping Rodimus out. He was taking this 'JaAm' thing way too seriously. If he was acting normal, Hot Shot would've made some obscure or humor-intended comment. Not something like this.

Red Alert arrived right on cue to distract him from his present obsession. She looked tired and slightly annoyed, but even that was an improvement to her earlier attitude.

"So, what's the big problem?" She asked. The two mechs both pointed absently at the JaAm, "What is that!?"

"That's what we were hoping you could tell us." Rodimus said with a smile. She frowned and leaned over to inspect it further.

"It's…some kind of fuel…I think…" She answered, a bit unsure. "But with the Decepticon insignia…who knows what it could really-"

Hot Shot suddenly reached forward and pushed Red Alert back, his servos trying to grab at the JaAm. He was swiping at it desperately, as if he couldn't live through the next nanoclicks without it. Rodimus was still not sure what this 'JaAm' was, but for some reason he knew that if Hot Shot got a hold of it, something bad would happen.

"Wait, what are you doing!? We don't know what it is!" Rodimus cried. Hot Shot made no sign that he heard the warning.

It was too late anyways. The `bot's servos grasped the substance. Instantly a stream of light sprang out of it. Rodimus tried to shield himself but found it did nothing. It was almost as if a wave of pure energy hit him right in the chestplate. He was thrown backwards by the force of the blow. He expected to hit the ground hard, but before he could there was an odd tearing sensation inside of him. He winced in pain.

Then there was nothing.

* * *

Ironhide reacted quickly and without really thinking it through. All he could hear was Rodimus yelling at Hot Shot, and then a giant explosion. So, of course, he assumed some kind of attack. Before even looking back to see what had happened, he activated his alloy plating and ran into Brawn, knocking both of them to the ground and hopefully protecting them from whatever detonation had gone off.

"What the slag was that for?" Brawn asked as he pushed Ironhide off of him.

"Something's happenin'." Ironhide answered.

Brawn rolled his viz scanners. "Well, duh, I knew that much. Why did you have to do that, though? I can take care of myself."

"We need to make sure Rodimus an' the others are okay." Ironhide reminded. Brawn couldn't argue about that. If they were hurt and under attack, they would need help and soon.

They turned to where the blast had occurred. It was a few mechanometers away near the communication towers. A crater had formed from the force of the explosion. Ironhide frowned as the two of them ran towards the site. It didn't look like anybot nearby had suffered a very good fate. The ground was black and smoking. He was worried they would find the shells of their comrades in a similar state.

Oddly enough, there was no sign of Decepticons, or anything else for that matter, in the immediate area. Or anywhere else in space. It was almost if a random explosion had occurred. That could be more of a problem than a Decepticon attack.

"They're over here!" Brawn called, motioning to the left. Ironhide followed, seeing Rodimus, Red Alert, and Hot Shot lying on the ground before them. He sighed. They weren't gray. If a `bot's not gray, he's a-okay. That was the saying, anyways.

He ran over to Rodimus, who was propped with his stomach down. There were small wounds scattered over him, but not much energon was leaking out. That was good. At least, Ironhide thought so. Carefully, he turned him over, not wanting to hurt him more than he already was. His chassis felt oddly light. Or maybe Ironhide had just grown a little stronger after all his training with Brawn.

When he had his leader facing upwards, he gasped and scouted back a bit in surprise. Rodimus's viz scanners were still slightly open, filled with pain. But his chestplate had been ripped open, energon spouting out like crazy. And his spark. It was gone.

Ironhide tried not to scream. "B-Brawn!! Yah might wanna come look at this!"

Brawn had a similar reaction. They both stood and stared for a few nanoclicks, wondering what had happened. Was Rodimus online? He wasn't gray…but the loss of a spark kind of finished a `bot off. Like, there was no exception. Ever. They quickly snapped out of the shock-induced stupor and checked up on the other two. Both of them were in a similar state, sparkless but still fully colored.

"W-What should we do?" Brawn asked, feeling Hot Shot's cold chassis.

Ironhide didn't know how to answer. He had never learned how to react in a situation like this at the Autobot boot camp. He doubted anybot had. Usually he had regulations he could follow in positions like this. Now he was all on his own with a `bot who knew as much as he did. He felt helpless.

There was only one thing he could do.

"We need to call somebot."

* * *

"We're DEAD!" Hot Shot screamed for about the fifteen-hundredth time. He continued to run back and forth, yelling at the top of his lungs. It was getting a little annoying. Just a little. But Rodimus didn't have time to be peeved. He was just as confused as Hot Shot about what had happened to them.

Red Alert didn't feel the same way. She gave Hot Shot one of her famous looks.

"Will you _ever_ shut up!? I think it's quite obvious we're offline." She snapped. Hot Shot grimaced and stopped in his tracks, almost tripping over himself in the process.

"But…if we are offline…why aren't we in the Well of All Sparks?" Rodimus asked. Everybot knew that when you went offline, your spark was sent straight into the Well of All Sparks. It was a guarantee. Unless…you were wicked enough to go to the Pit. But this wasn't exactly what he had expected of the Pit or the Well of All Sparks. In fact, it looked like they were back on Cybertron. In Ultra Magnus's office, to be exact. Well…Optimus Magnus's now, he supposed.

He had been there once for his space bridge assignment, and it wasn't a place one easily forgot. It was a huge room. Much bigger than any of the other offices Rodimus had ever been in. But why were they here? They weren't themselves, for sure. Instead of having any physical presence, they seemed to be an outline of their former selves. They had no sense of substance. When they tried to touch each other, or anything else, they simply went through it.

"I'm not sure…" Red Alert admitted, "But there has to be some explanation."

"Maybe the Well of All Sparks doesn't exist." Hot Shot offered.

Red Alert frowned. "I wouldn't talk if I were you. It's all your fault we're in this mess anyways."

"_My_ fault?" Hot Shot asked incredulously.

"If you had acted reasonably and not touched that…whatever it was called, we wouldn't be here." She accused.

"It's called 'JaAm'." Hot Shot corrected indignantly.

"See! You are still obsessed with it, even after all the trouble it caused!"

Hot Shot considered this. "Y-You're right…I don't know why, but something weird happened back there…like I didn't really have control of myself or something…No wait, I had control of myself. I just heard something that told me to touch it…and then I couldn't get the thoughts out of my head."

His confession caused an eerie silence. Red Alert didn't look all convinced, but Rodimus believed him. He had never heard the `bot say anything more sincerely before. And he looked scared about what had happened. Like he really hadn't meant it. Rodimus didn't hold it against him.

A door opened behind them, and all three turned around at the sound. Optimus stepped in, walking quickly to his desk. The fact that he disregarded them and passed straight through Hot Shot proved that they were not able to interact with `bots that were still online. But there was somebot behind him that was very aware of their presence. In fact, he seemed to share their predicament. Just like them, he was simple an energy outline of a `bot. A `bot who Rodimus had seen before.

He had been walking directly behind Optimus, but as soon as he caught sight of them he did a double-take. He stopped suddenly and looked straight at Rodimus in disbelief.

"What are you…How are you…?" He stumbled over words. Obviously he hadn't expected to ever see anybot quite like him before.

"Hey! I know you! You're Prowl! That dude that saved Earth and stuff!" Hot Shot exclaimed. "Remember, Roddy?"

That was right. He had been a part of Optimus's team and had sacrificed his spark, an event that had eventually led to the defeat of Megatron. There had been a big memorial service when they had returned to Cybertron.

"You went offline during the final battle." Rodimus remembered aloud.

Prowl blinked. "Yes, that was me."

"So we _are_ offline!" Hot Shot almost whimpered.

"I thought we had already gone through that, Hot Shot!" Red Alert sighed.

"How did you get here?" Prowl asked, much calmer than before. He must have gotten over the initial shock of discovering more in the same state as he.

"We're not sure." Rodimus admitted. "We encountered something strange on our space bridge…and after it exploded on us we ended up here." Hot Shot winced at the reminder of his screw-up.

"Wait…you were on a space bridge when you went offline?" Prowl asked for clarification.

"Yeah. Space bridge 687-030."

"That can't be right…" Prowl muttered. He placed two fingers on his temple, as if trying to figure out what had happened.

"Why are _you_ here?" Hot Shot asked.

"Can you give me a nanoclick to think?" He growled. "You're just like Bumblebee…"

"Who?"

"Never mind." He sighed, "My spark combined with the rest of the Allspark fragments to create the Matrix. So it couldn't go to the Well of All Sparks."

The whole idea was kind of saddening. A `bot gave up his life to save his friends, and others, and then is forced to live out the rest of existence simply watching? Maybe there was more to the story that Rodimus didn't know yet. Either way, Prowl looked like he was taking it well.

"But wait…" Red Alert spoke up, "We had nothing to do with the Matrix when we went offline…"

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Prowl nodded, "And when I woke up I was where I was when I went offline. Cybertron is a bit far from space bridges like that."

"So why are we here?" Hot Shot asked. Rodimus was about to ask him to shut up and leave the poor `bot alone, but Prowl seemed more patient this time around.

"I think I can figure it out…just give me a nanoclick." He sat down in a somewhat meditating pose. They watched, wondering what he was doing. Suddenly, he began to hum softly.

Hot Shot opened his mouth to ask something, but both Red Alert and Rodimus gave him threatening looks. Though they knew they couldn't do anything to him the way they were, the threat still worked. He backed off.

That was good. At the moment Prowl was the only way to answers that they had.

* * *

"So…what do you think?" The voice asked in a sugar-coated tone.

Starscream was still in his little corner. But he was no longer sulking. The sudden entrance of the three Autobots had taken him by some surprise. Of course, they hadn't noticed him when they arrived. The smallest one had proceeded to go into hysterics and the other two were stuck to deal with him. They were too self-absorbed to realize that they weren't alone. But when _Prowl_ had come in, oh yeah, they had noticed _that_

Sure, they probably would've ran away or something at the sight of him. He was a Decepticon after all. But the fact that he was easily ignored ticked him off. Just like when he had been under Megatron. Nobot took him seriously.

"You offlined three Autobots. Big whoop. I've done a _lot_ more than that." He twirled his finger in the air as a mock.

"They're not offline." The voice said as if through gritted teeth.

"How?" Starscream asked. He had never heard of such a thing happening before.

"You'll see." He could almost imagine the voice smiling evilly, "Now…about our deal…"

"It's still under consideration." Starscream answered quickly. While he was impressed with what this voice could do, he was still not convinced. He didn't even know what it was, save what power it possessed.

"Fine then. You'll come around soon. You'll see. It's time to reveal myself to the rest of the players."

"Really. How do you suppose you can do that?"

"I finally have more power…Not enough for me, but enough for them…" He sounded a little desperate at the 'enough', like all he could do in his miserable existence was grab more and more. "They will finally know…who I am…"

This was bound to be exciting.

* * *

"Do you really think that silly little ninjabot stunt will do anything?"

Prowl frowned upon recognizing Starscream's voice. It had been quiet enough for him to meditate until he spoke up.

"Starscream, please. I don't have the time for this." He said firmly.

He had a big problem on his servos. Three `bots just suddenly showed up in the Magnus office, in a ghost-like form just like him and Starscream. He had thought that they would've been the only ones. Something definitely had to have gone wrong. Yoketron would've told him if there was an exception to this whole affair.

He would have to ignore the Decepticon for now. This was too important.

"Who said anything about Starscream?"

This caught his attention fully. He opened his viz scanners and turned to where the voice was coming from.

The Matrix was lying on the desk as it usually did. But coming out of it was what appeared to be a Starscream clone. Though it was one that Prowl had never seen before. He was a shade of blue that hadn't been featured on one of Starscream's creations.

The `bot who was curiously similar to Bumblebee let out a huge gasp and ducked behind the femme at the sight of it. She frowned and tried to push him away, which only caused him to grab hold of her servos.

"No slaggin' way! There are Decepticons here too!?" He cried.

"There's usually only one…but he's not usually a problem." Prowl explained.

"So I'm not a problem, huh?" This time it was the real Starscream. He walked over from his corner and looked at the clone suspiciously, "Wait…why do you look like me?"

The other `bot… Roddy was it? Prowl was sure that was a nickname of some sort. Anyways, he instantly went into a battle stance, viz scanners locked on the two `cons. He wasn't ready to attack just yet, but if the adversaries made a move, he would be ready. Prowl only hoped he had the spark-power to activate any abilities he had. Otherwise he would be sorely ineffective.

"I don't just _look_ like you, silly Starscream." The clone laughed, "I'm the personality that didn't receive a body. You hadn't been able to find it in your spark to let me live like the rest of them. How ironic, now, that I hold your spark."

"What do you mean?" Prowl asked. He too was wary of this clone.

"Well, that's only a fraction of what I truly am. The name's Dirge. I'm derived from Starscream's…greedy side." He sneered, "And soon, I'll have all I want."

"And what's that?" Roddy asked.

"Everything, of course." He said matter-of-factly.

"But how can you do that? You yourself said you don't have the power yet." Starscream reminded. Prowl took note of this. Starscream had spoken to Dirge before.

"Because I'm the Matrix, silly. All I can do is get more."

The revelation struck Prowl hard. It was starting to make sense. Somehow…Starscream's spark must've corrupted the Matrix. The greedy nature that hadn't received a chassis had taken over its container in its quest to exist. The Matrix may have even agreed with it. Maybe like the Allspark, it had a consciousness. It didn't have its own personality, so it adopted one of Starscream's. And that had taken a bad turn.

Three sparks materialized in Dirge's servos. He stared at them hungrily and clenched his fists around them.

"Those…those are our…" The femme realized aloud.

"Yes. I took them from you. They gave me a beautiful burst of energy. Before your life sources came along, I could barely do anything. Now you can finally see me." He explained.

"So…we aren't offline?" The `bot behind her said in a confused tone.

"Eventually, yes. Once I drain all the power out of your sparks, that is." He looked at the sparks in his servos again, a sick grin on his faceplate.

"Why are you doing this? What could you possibly accomplish?" Roddy asked.

"An Autobot like you doesn't understand the concept of pure chaos. There doesn't have to be a reason in your perfect little worlds. Some things just _are_." He smirked, "And I want my reign to be chaotic."

He turned and looked at Optimus, who was working as usual. Prowl didn't like the way he was looking at him. Like he would do to him what he had already done to these three `bots. He couldn't let that happen.

He concentrated, and pulled a ninja star out of his compartment. It stuck Dirge in the faceplate and sent him flying backwards. Prowl had actually been surprised it had taken any effect at all. He hadn't been able to make his weapons work before.

"Why'd you do that for?" Starscream asked. Prowl ignored him and marched up to Dirge. He wasn't scared of this new adversary. Not yet.

"If you even think of hurting Optimus…" He growled. He grabbed a hold of the `con's stabilizing servo. Dirge cried out and tried to shake him off.

"How can he do that?" Prowl heard the Bumblebee-wannabe ask from behind him.

"Not now, Hot Shot." The femme chastised, a little worried.

"No…it isn't supposed to happen like this…" Dirge said shakily, as if reassuring himself. He reached down and swatted Prowl away, which was effective. "I'm not going to hurt your precious leader, Prowl. But…you on the other hand…No, not yet. I need more power."

"So what? Just go suck up some more sparks and you should be fine!" Starscream said. Prowl didn't like how the `con was siding with Dirge, but could any more really be expected? He had thought that after what he had gone through with Sentinel though…

"Can't even do that now…took too much to create this image of me." He referred to himself, "What I need is a physical body…but that part of the plan is already in motion. Now…I just need the Allspark."

Suddenly, Dirge flew over and grabbed Starscream. The `con looked a bit surprised at the sudden contact. Instantly, the two of them disappeared in an explosion of light. Prowl reached out, trying to stop them from doing whatever they were doing. It was no use. They were gone.

Prowl could only stare at the empty space where the two `cons had just been. Finally he had time to think about everything Dirge had been saying, though it could've been under less stressful circumstances. He wanted…everything. Most likely this meant control of it. That was reiterated in his statement of a 'reign'. And he had no logical reason for doing so. He himself admitted it. Prowl was up against a foe that was different than all others before. And it seemed that only he could go against him.

"What did he mean…'The Allspark'? Isn't it gone?"

Oh, that was right. Prowl had momentarily forgotten about the newest victims of Dirge's plot. Roddy looked at Prowl, expecting an answer. 'Hot Shot' and the femme were staring at him too. They had appointed him the one to know everything. He sighed inwardly. It wasn't anything new to him, but it was still bothersome.

Then it hit him. The Allspark. Why hadn't he thought of it before!? He had to act quickly.

"You know what he means, don't you?" Hot Shot asked.

He nodded gravely. "We have to get to earth, and soon."

* * *

**DIRGE!!! :D A lot of you figured out who it was before now, because he's been mentioned in like three oneshots before this, though he only started talking in the last Jettwins one. He gotta toy but no show appearance? INJUSTICE! :D It was Consuelo Higdon's idea to have Starscream corrupt the Matrix and to suck out sparks. I can't think of cool stuff like that. Dirge is heavily based off of the Joker from the Dark Knight, because that's my favorite villain of all time. It doesn't really show in this oneshot, but it hopefully will later. **

**JaAm. Don't you love how people can 'talk' with a capitilized letter in the middle of the word? XD I'm not sure how that works. I was dying to do a JaAm joke, but it evolved into almost a Macguffin at this point. It'll have an even bigger role soon (you can see a preview of it on Consuelo's deviantart Sihira-Hedgehog). Don't diss the power of the JaAm. Oh, and if any of you have seen the movie 9, there is a big reference to it in Rodimus's line to Hot Shot right before he grabs it. Actually, its a direct quote XD I watched the scene on youtube and typed it up. I can see the talisman as JaAm for some reason now...**

**I like Rodimus a lot more than Optimus. don't take me wrong, I don't hate Optimus. But for some reason Rodimus strikes me as more interesting. Maybe its because he's so mysterious with his short cameo...**

**I wonder if any of you can think of what Dirge is going to do...Its a theory I had for a long time now, actually, and I'm glad I can finally write it out. well, I haven't written it yet, but I will :D It involves what I think REALLY happened to the Allspark.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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